Are you getting an “Invite Invalid” error when you try joining a Discord server?
Here’s the full error message, “This invite may be expired, or you might not have the permission to join”.
The “Invite Invalid” error is very common, and people have encountered it at least once before on Discord.
Maybe you’re encountering the error while using your friend’s invite link.
Or maybe you’re encountering the error while using an invite link that you found online.
Either way, the root cause of the error is mainly the same.
In this article, you’ll learn why you got the “Invite Invalid” error on Discord, why Discord invites are not working, how to fix it, and more.
- Why is my Discord invite link invalid?
- Why is my Discord invite link expired?
- How to fix “Invite Invalid” on Discord
- How to join a Discord server with an expired link
- Do Discord invite links expire?
Why is my Discord invite link invalid?
Your Discord invite link is invalid either because it has expired, the code is invalid, you’re banned, or you’ve exceeded the number of servers that you can join.
Some Discord links have expiration dates, which means that you won’t be able to join the server if the invite link has passed its expiration date.
Reason #1: The Discord link has expired.
If that’s the case, you have to contact the owner of the server and ask them for another invite.
You might have to ask them to get rid of the expiration date as well.
Reason #2: The invite code is invalid.
Next, if the invite code is invalid, you won’t be able to join the server.
Invite codes are case-sensitive, which means that the link wouldn’t work if one or more of its letters are in the wrong capitalization.
For example, the invite code “MApk6fPs” and “mApk6fPs” are treated as two distinct codes.
This is because the “M” is uppercase in the first invite code and lowercase in the second invite code.
Reason #3: You’re banned from the server.
Thirdly, the invite link might be invalid because you’re banned from the server.
When you’re banned from a server, your IP address will be blocked.
In order to join the server again, you need to contact the owner of the server and ask them to unban you.
Otherwise, you won’t be able to join the server using its invite link.
Reason #4: You’ve exceeded the number of Discord servers that you can join.
Lastly, if you’ve you’ve exceeded the number of servers that you can join, you won’t be able to join another server.
The maximum number of servers that you can join on Discord is 100.
In order to join another server, you need to leave one of your existing ones.
Why is my Discord invite link expired?
Your Discord invite link is expired because the owner of the server did not remove the expiration date for it.
By default, Discord invite links will expire after 24 hours.
This means that if the owner of the server didn’t edit the invite link’s expiration date, it’ll expire after 24 hours.
As a server owner, you’re given the ability to edit your invite link settings.
This can be found on your server’s menu > invite > settings.
The expiration date settings is located under “Advanced Settings”.
Under “Expire After”, you can choose to set the invite link to “Never”, “1 day”, “12 hours”, “6 hours”, “1 hour”, or “30 mins”.
These settings are intended to limit unwanted use of the link.
If you’re a member of a server and the Discord link is expired, you’ll have to contact the server owner to send you another link.
You won’t be able to know the expiration date of the link, so it’s best to use the link as soon as possible before it expires.
How to fix “Invite Invalid” on Discord
To fix the “Invite Invalid” error on Discord, you need to either ask the server owner to send you another link, unban you, or you need to leave an existing server.
Method #1: Ask the server owner to send you another invite link.
The most common reason why you got the “Invite Invalid” error on Discord is that the link has expired.
If that’s the case, you’ll have to contact the server owner to send you another link.
Additionally, you can request them to edit the invite link to never expire so that it does not have an expiration date.
Method #2: If you’re banned from the server, you need to contact the server owner to unban you.
If the cause of the error is not because of an expired link, it may be because you’re banned from the server.
A Discord server ban is an IP-level ban, so you won’t be able to join the server unless you’re unbanned.
As a result, your only option is to contact the server owner to unban you.
Method #3: If you’ve already joined 100 Discord servers, you need to leave one of the existing ones in order to join another.
Lastly, if you’ve exceeded the limit for the number of Discord servers that you can join, you’ll get the “Invite Invalid” error.
To fix it, you’ll have to leave one of your existing Discord servers.
Then, try using the invite link again and the “Invite Invalid” error should be lifted.
How to join a Discord server with an expired link
To join a Discord server with an expired link, you’ll have to contact the server owner to send you another one.
Make sure to request them to change the invite link to “Never Expire” to remove the expiration date.
Alternatively, if the Discord server is a public one, you can search for it on the Discord app and join it there.
If a Discord Server has enabled the discover feature, you can search for it via the “Explore Discord Servers” tab on the Discord web app.
In order to do this, open Discord on a desktop and scroll to the bottom of the extreme-left navigation bar.
You cannot do this on the Discord app as it does not have the “Explore Discord Servers” feature.
Then, select “Explore Public Servers”.
On the search bar, type in the name of the server.
For example, if the Discord server’s name is “ChilledCow”, search for “ChilledCow” and hit enter.
Lastly, select the server to join it.
Again, this only works if the server is a public one.
If the server does not have the “Enable Community” feature enabled and has not applied for Discovery you won’t be able to find it on the “Explore Public Servers” tab.
If that’s the case, the only way to join the server is to contact the server owner to send you another invite link.
Do Discord invite links expire?
Discord invite links have six expiration date options—Never, 1 Day, 12 hours, 6 hours, 1 hour, and 30 minutes.
By default, Discord invite links will expire after 24 hours.
That being said, the expiration date of the invite link can be edited by the server owner.
If you’re the owner of a Discord server, you can edit the expiration date of its invite link.
In order to do so, head on over to your server and select the invite button.
If you’re using Discord on your desktop, the invite button is named as “Invite People”.
On the other hand, if you’re using the Discord app on your mobile device, the invite button is named as “Invite”.
After you’ve selected the invite button, click on “Edit invite link” (if you’re on a desktop) and tap on the Settings icon (if you’re on the Discord app).
Lastly, edit the expiration date of the invite link by changing it to however you want.
If you don’t want it to expire, you can change the “Expire after” setting to “Never Expire”.
Conclusion
If you’ve been using Discord for a while, you’ll probably encounter an invalid Discord link at least once.
Fortunately, the invalid Discord link error can be easily fixed by using the methods that are listed in this article.
The vast majority of Discord server owners are unaware that Discord links have an expiration date (by default).
Currently, it’s not known whether Discord will remove the default expiration date.
But for now, Discord server owners will remain oblivious to it, and users will frequently encounter expired links that aren’t meant to be.
Further Reading
How to Add Member Count on Discord (With Pictures)
How to Get The “Bot” Tag on Discord (8 Easy Steps)
The 10 Best Among Us Discord Servers
Lim How Wei is the founder of Followchain. Feel free to follow him on Instagram.
